The Shifters

Origins
The year was 1937 and an evil the likes of which humanity had never known was just beginning to brew. Just as with many other times in history, humans were insatiable for their need to advance. For to advance, was to give the illusion of perfection mixed with intoxicating power. The Nazi regime was no different. The difference was, that the S.S. began extermination of 'lesser human beings' while coming to the conclusion that they were breeding the perfect race. Many text books will tell you the name of this perfect specimen of mankind, they were Aryans. People of Nordic descent with their bright blue eyes and flaxen hair were basically the Adonis's of early twentieth century German culture. While creating hubs throughout their defeated neighboring countries of these people, it was next decided that they could create strong warriors to protect them. After all, there was no sense in the Aryan Gods in sullying their pristine skin unless it was absolutely necessary. Then, the idea was born.

The Nazi's were anti-animal cruelty. Little did most the world know, but it was merely due to the fact that animals were to not be harmed according to the occult practices of the higher generals of the Third Reich. Nazi Germany in fact created many laws preventing animal cruelty and spoke out against vivisection, which is the process of operating on animals for experimentation purposes. With this in mind, the Nazi's believed that animals were as close to the rightful inhabitants of the Earth as it got. Humans were a cancer and should evolve into something more in tune with Earth itself. Adolph Hitler himself was a fan of 'The Island of Doctor Moreau', a science fiction novel by H.G. Wells written in 1896. It was with the basic twisting of the multiple theme's the book portrayed, pain, cruelty, moral responsibility, human identity, and human interference with nature that was the tip of the iceberg.

Thus, the experiments began. The first man in charge of deciphering the genetic code to evolution was Joseph Wursteinhorf. The human captives were not ideal specimens but until they got it right, they used them like livestock. The plan was that once their elite forces of S.S. military had everyone on the planet Earth under control, they could begin to heal the cancer that humans had become. For the next seven years scientists including but not limited to geneticists were brought to Ragenheim to continue the genetic testing. In that time period they had literally turned Ragenheim into a menagerie of their subjects. They had created shifters. Born humans that could learn to shift around the age of three years old. When the shift took place, no trace of humanoid remained, they took on the exact physical biology of their animal gene. The difference was that while in wolf-form the shifter could use logic and rationalize like a human.

They had began with wolves, such a noble and proud creature. Capable of great harm, but most prized, was the fact that wolves could survive on their own or help carry an entire pack. This was something to strive for in their minds. They had created an entirely new species by concocting a serum of nucleic acid, a binding agent, neutrophils to fight infections, an adapter that is a short chemically synthesized, double stranded DNA molecule which is used to link the ends of two other DNA molecules which in this case were a molecule from the human father and a molecule from the animal specimen, along with extra chromosomes and zygotes. This was introduced to the fetus at no more than two days natal. The doctors would inject the serum of into the mother's belly, via medieval amniocentesis through the navel, this delivered the serum straight to the placenta. They now had the recipe, the next step was to convert the rest of the world into the animals that should inhabit the Earth.

1944, that year everything changed. The tide of the great second war was turning, Germany was falling back all over the world and the Allies were taking the fields. The Reich abandoned Ragenheim on January 27, 1945. But the shifters and few specimens left were merely transported to another encampment. Now they were moved from encampment to encampment. Forever running from the Allies it paused the genetic vivisections of the animals and humans. But the work of Wursteinhorf was not forgotten, he kept moving until he could find a safe enough home base. He went worked as a an attendant at the Institute of Hereditary Biology and Racial Hygiene in Bohemia. July 26, 1945 the world changed forever. The United States had bombed Japan, two large cities known as Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was merely weeks after that, that the world discovered the Others. These beings, or creatures as Wursteinhorf called them, were far worse than any Jew he'd ever seen. Now his work took on the importance of survival along with racial cleansing. He left his position with IHBRH and found himself in a desolated farm in the countryside of Bavaria.

During the next four years, Wursteinhorf experimented with more species of canine animals including, but not limited to coyotes, jackals, dingos, zorros, and various breeds of dogs. He was gaining quite a zoo to keep up with and needed a better place to hide. The only silver lining was that Wursteinhorf would never harm a shifter. Therefore they remained in hiding, until his animalistic military was ready to attack the cancer of the new world known as the Others. If their difference in genetics hadn't convinced him enough, the Great Conflagration did. That war replaced what looked like a mere skirmish that was WWII. The Other's had attacked all of humanity for the transgressions against Terra, the new term for Earth which Wursteinhorf staunchly refused to use. For safety sake, in May of 1949, Wursteinhorf's pack moved to Buenos Aires. It was there that he created almost all the rest of the animal geneses including the Feline class, the Rodentia class, the Reptilian class, the Aerial class, the Equine class, the Bovine class, the Amphibian class, and the last was the Nautical class. Also, while in South American, Wursteinhorf began to seek out other survivors of his old guard to train his new race to fight. The shifters were trained in various forms of combat beginning at the age of five years old.

The feline class consisted of many large cats. Tigers, panthers, lions, cheetah's, leopards, bobcats, cougars, ocelots, lynx, and jaguars were all spliced with humans. Next Wursteinhorf went bigger for the first time. He created the Ursidae class, the species were various breeds of bears, along with cousins walrus, sea lions, and seals. The Rodentia class had a few different species as well they included squirrels, porcupines, guinea pigs, groundhogs, rats, beavers, hamsters, capybaras, bats, treeshrews, moles, weasels, chipmunks, and rabbits. The Reptile class was vast and quite a task for Wursteinhorf, at this point he had only performed vivisection on mammals. But the reptile's held and allure for him like no other. He created shifters of snakes, alligators, crocodiles, lizards, turtles, tortoises, terrapins, caimans, and gavials. It took a little tweak to his strain of DNA, but he made it work. Next came the Aerial class. They were only birds of prey. He created strong birds that would be able to lead the rest of the species of natural born birds. He created eagles, owls, vultures, hawks, falcons, and osprey. The Equine class followed the birds. Now, in his Equine group not all animals were exactly equine, but it made sense to group them together nonetheless.

Wursteinhorf was taking great delight in his success and continued that success by creating horses, zebras, elephants, and giraffes. He stayed on his kick of large animals by next creating the Bovine class. In this class could be found, buffalo, yaks, antelopes, cow, deer, goats, bison, and hippos. In true Wursteinhorf fashion, the next class would prove to be quite challenging. First off they were much smaller than a human and were also non-mammals. He began creating the Amphibian class. He didn't make many of them, merely frogs, salamanders, newts, and toads. His last great challenge was the Nautical class, as with the birds, he kept his experiments to a minimum. He created sharks, octopus, stingray, electric eels, and barracudas. It would be his last great hurrah.

Class Beginning Year Breeds
Canine 1944 coyotes, jackals, dingos, zorros, and various breeds of dogs
Ursidae 1946 Tigers, panthers, lions, cheetah's, leopards, bobcats, cougars, ocelots, lynx, and jaguars
Feline 3AC bears, along with cousins walrus, sea lions, and seals
Rodentia 5AC squirrels, porcupines, guinea pigs, groundhogs, rats, beavers, hamsters, capybaras, bats, treeshrews, moles, weasels, chipmunks, and rabbits
Reptilian 7AC snakes, alligators, crocodiles, lizards, turtles, tortoises, terrapins, caimans, and gavials
Aerial 10AC Eagles, Owls, Vultures, Hawks, Falcons, and Osprey
Equine 12AC horses, zebras, elephants, and giraffes
Bovine 13AC buffalo, yaks, antelopes, cow, deer, goats, bison, and hippos
Amphibian 15AC frogs, salamanders, newts, and toads
Nautical 16AC sharks, octopus, stingray, electric eels, and barracudas

Rebellion
Wursteinhorf's health was failing and this slowed his experimentations. He had amassed several hundred shifters at this point. They were all kept separate from one another throughout the old South American continent, but they were not stupid. They knew of the other farms and the different geneses. Along with all of these shifters Wursteinhorf had also created a new Reich. He called it the Fourth Reich in fact. They ran the farms like concentration camps. Not much had changed. They got specimens from all over the world in slave trading markets, tourists, or prisoners. The one thing they seldom did was use locals. It would cause talk and the farms did their best to stay under any kind of radar. The separate animal classes were very close. They formed bonds that were stronger than blood, they had bonds of like subjugation. At this point, the eldest of the shifters were in their mid-thirties even the youngest of shifter class was seventeen.

They met in secret, sending messages of locale and date via the Rodentia and Reptilian classes. It was the third full moon of Summer in 23AC when leaders from each class met in old Paraguay. It was decided they would migrate north, they would go to the old United States and make a new life. It was a strategically sound plan, they all hit the main barracks of their captors at the same time on the third day after the waxing of the moon. It was a slaughter all the way around, even the Aerial class had decimated their guards. It was then that Wursteinhorf's evil machinations were finally put to an end. It was a member of the Ursidae clan that actually killed their maker. It was over, finally, an end to the last of the Nazi program. After this the great migration took place.

Migration
The different classes all headed toward the Western part of the old United States. The following is their main strongholds.

Class Location

Canine Old Rocky Mountains - Main Settlement is in old Montana called Patpuron

Ursidae Old Alaska, to Fox Islands, to Yukon Territory - Main Settlement is at the Kenal Peninsula called Osekanael

Feline Old Great Plains - Main Settlement is in old Nebraska called Kakosan

Rodentia Old Oklahoma area - Main Settlement is called Lazeper

Reptilian Old Louisiana and Mississippi area - Main Settlement found in old New Orleans called Slisuer

Aerial Old California and Nevada area - Main Settlement in SoCal called Arasucon

Equine Old Great Plains - Main Settlement is in old Colorado called Trihul

Bovine Old Great Plains - Main Settlement is in old North Dakota called

Uzalkutod

Amphibian Old Texas area - Main Settlement is in old Corpus Christie called Renas

Nautical Old Oregon and Washington State area - Main Settlement in Washington State called Daseeru

Culture

Canine
Demeanor - As a whole, the Canine Clan is very secretive and quiet. They do not get rowdy unless it's absolutely necessary. They prefer peace, unless it's pack against pack.

Patriarchal society
• Alpha Pack Master
• Hunter/Warrior
• Sons
• Daughters
• Men
• Women
• Polyandrous - male may take several wives or lovers.
• Children stay with mother until males first hunt or females are claimed.
• More of a pack familial unit rather than separate families, with the exception of royalty.
• Males must hunt/fight.
• Direct male relative must agree to claimed females.
• Pack feeds children first.
• Disagreements are settled by combat, terms set by defendant.
• Punishments vary worst case scenario is banishment or death.

Ursidae
Demeanor - As a whole, the Ursidae Clan is very much into power. They prefer to be on top of the food chain and they like to be the boss. They can be quite pushy but quite wise as well depending on the bear.

Matriarchal society
• Pack Empress
• Hunter/Warrior
• Daughters
• Sons
• Women
• Men
• Polyandrous - female may take several wives or lovers.
• Children are raised by mothers until females choose mate and males are chosen.
• Empress is law, she can and will change law to suit her mood.
• Both male and female's hunt.
• Females must bear cubs, else face banishment or death.
• Male's do not malign the females.
• Children are sent alone on first hunt, not allowed to return without a kill.
• Disagreements are settled by Empress's judgment.
• Punishments vary worst case scenario is banishment or death.

Feline
Demeanor - As a whole, the Feline Clan rules as if it were there right, and in the old circle it was. They can be pompous and entitled. At the same time, they are extremely loyal.

Patriarchal society
• King
• Royal Family
• Hunter/Warrior
• Daughters
• Sons
• Women
• Men
• Monogamous - male will choose mate, but female must agree.
• Children are raised within the pride, everyone has a hand in it.
• Females are the hunter/warriors, the men sometimes join.
• Male's word is law. The male of the unit is unquestionable.
• Adultery is dealt with swiftly.
• Females must hunt and feed all the cubs.
• Physical abuse of a female is not tolerated.
• Disagreements are settled by combat, plaintiff chooses terms.
• Punishment can be maiming to death. Banishment is seldom.

Rodentia
Demeanor - As a whole, the Rodentia Clan are sneaky political climbers. They will lie, cheat, and steal to gain their means. No alliance with them is advised.

Patriarchal society
• Governor
• Gatherers
• Intelligence Officers
• Sons
• Daughters
• Men
• Women
• Monogamous - female chooses mate, male must agree.
• Children are raised by the women who are not allowed to do any gathering on their own.
• Females are also not allowed to be Intelligence Officers.
• Leaking of information is the worst crime possible.
• Gatherers go out to find necessities and share in a central bazaar, they cannot keep for just themselves.
• Disagreements are settled by debate, outcome decided by the governor.
• Punishments include banishment.

Reptilian
Demeanor - As a whole, the Reptilian Clan wants to be left alone. They do not like strangers even if it is a fellow clan member. They bite first and ask questions later, if ever. They are slow to rally a cause but once they do they 'strike' with deadly accuracy and force.

Patriarchal society
• Marquees
• Warriors
• Scavengers
• Men
• Women
• Sons
• Daughters
• Polyandrous - for both the males and females if they so choose.
• Children are not cared for, they are left to their own devices in order to grow up self-sufficient.
• Both genders hunt to feed themselves. Nobody shares.
• No real family or community unit. Only come together when necessary.
• Cannibalism of any other Reptile is unacceptable, they may be killed but do not eat them.
• Scavengers are prized because sick rep's can steal their remains. The scavenger is not allowed to seek retribution by law.
• Disagreements are settled by combat. No terms, it's usually death.
• Punishments include death.

Aerial
Demeanor - As a whole, the Aerial Clan is very outgoing. They enjoy company and social activities. Don't let it fool you, these birds of prey can and will fight if need be.

Matriarchal Society
• Countess
• Royal Family
• Hunters/Warriors
• Women
• Daughters
• Men
• Sons
• Monogamous - female and male agree by mutual consent.
• Children are cared for by both parents and flock.
• Hunters are either gender and are obligated to feed the flock.
• Tight knit family units all converge to create a tight knit flock.
• Abandonment of family or flock is a capital offense.
• Abuse of any kind is not tolerated.
• Disagreements are settled by test by trial.
• Punishments go as far as death.

Equine
Demeanor - As a whole, the Equine Clan are very untrusting souls, they don't like anyone on their territory and will rouse to temper easily. When one can speak to them, they are very wise and calculating.

Patriarchal society
• Baron
• Royalty
• Warriors
• Gatherers
• Sons
• Daughters
• Men
• Women
• Monogamous - once a mare agrees to a mate it's for life, before that she can take as many lovers and vice versa as they choose.
• Children are raised by the mothers, usually a very strong bond.
• Women and children are protected by all male members of the herd.
• Tight knit family units all converge to create a tight knit herd.
• Abuse of a female is punishable by death.
• Warriors are highly decorated and they must show civic duty. If not they can be stripped of titles.
• Disagreements are settled by a court of elders.
• Punishments, depending on severity usually result in banishment.

Bovine
Demeanor - As a whole, the Bovine Clan are social creatures. They are generally a happy culture and avoid skirmishes at all costs.

Patriarchal society
• Chief
• Elders
• Scouts
• Men
• Sons
• Women
• Daughters
• Monogamous - generally settled with their partners, divorce does happen though.
• Children and women are kept apart from the males until the children are grown and the male goes with the elder men.
• Little girls are taught how to care for children and how to attract a mate.
• Women are very close in these herds, oftentimes more close than a woman with her spouse.
• Wastefulness goes against their genetics. Therefore if someone is wasting they are dealt with.
• Elders are the final word and oftentimes out vote the chief himself.
• Disagreements are handled by combat, the elders name the terms.
• Punishments include death or banishment.

Amphibian
Demeanor - As a whole, the Amphibian Clan are highly intelligent. They value education above all else. They take part in politics when need be but seldom do they try to advance themselves. Equal society
• The Circle
• Healers
• Children
• Adults
• Polyandrous - most take many lovers but some have someone special.
• Children are raised by the entire class.
• Children have a choice when they grow up to stay within the community or strike out on their own.
• If they stay they are trained to take some sort of position within society.
• Killing in general is frowned upon.
• Pretty peace loving species, they just want to heal.
• Disagreements are settled by The Circle which acts as a jury.
• Punishments include banishment.

Nautical
Demeanor - As a whole, the Nautical Clan is very aggressive. They don't trust anyone and people are not welcome in their waters. They are quite happy in their remote part of the world and would prefer to be left alone.

Patriarchal society
• Count
• Hunter/Warrior
• Males
• Sons
• Females
• Daughters
• Polyandrous - both genders will decide relationship status.
• Children are raised within a group tended by the females.
• Both genders hunt and fight when need be.
• Father's are very active in their offspring's lives.
• To steal from the pod is to end your own life.
• The death of another pod member must have satisfactory reasoning.
• Disagreements are settled by combat, agreement on terms must be made.
• Punishments include banishment or death.
Keep in mind, these are merely guidelines for a cultural outlook on different animal clans. Each individual character will, of course have their own opinions outlook, and what not.

Present Day 222AC
The animal clans have spent the past few centuries settling into their culture's and moving forward with life. They all remain extremely secretive of their shifting abilities. They live in areas where most life is gone. They do not trust humans, or Others for that matter. Their race has been treated badly by humans, and the lesson has stuck even in this new era. Shifting is something they completely understand and have a full handling on. Most of the animals can shift at the age of three years old, but sometimes it doesn't come until much later. Once they do shift, it takes awhile for the shifter to figure out how to shift back. It's a will, they must picture their human form and hold on to the image while the sinews and bones shift back into that of their human selves. Then to shift back to the animal they do the same, they must visualize the animal form and hold on to the concentration long enough to shift to it. When a shifter is very young and shifts, he or she will oftentimes not come back to human form for a few years, or until they understand how. While in animal form they are completely biologically animal. But, they can still understand logic like any other human. This makes them highly intelligent as well as strong from their animal gene.

It is completely unacceptable for a member of one clan to mate with a member of another clan. ie. a Canine Shifter mating with a Feline Shifter. But, it has happened with detrimental results. While on the subject of mating, their gene is passed on to their offspring and those offspring of course can shift as well. For the past couple hundred years, many different subspecies have mated with another of the genus ie. a coyote and wolf or owl with a falcon. It has been found that their offspring can shift into either species of their class. Therefore, shifters today who belong to a certain clan can almost shift into anything within their class. ie. a Shifter who can shift to a shark, stingray, octopus, or barracuda. Keep in mind, that no crossbreeding of classes has taken place none of the Shifters can shift into different classes ie. a Shifter could never shift to a tiger, wolf, shark, and falcon. All other forms must be within the same Clan.

Now, they feel threatened. All of the animals hold on to the tradition of meeting on the Summer Solstice in a pre-determined place. Word is carried by the Reptiles and Rodents just as it was 200 years ago as to the meeting place. There, all the leaders come together to discuss political items. Alliances are made, and intrigue abounds. They are the Animalia Court. If there is a major dispute between Clans there is a hearing and the Court votes. There is a High Priest who is elected to serve for 5 years. The elected official will administer the sentence in those cases. For now, the High Priest is from the Ursidae Clan. The court recently convened and there were numerous whispers of human and other activity. Each clan is now fortifying their strongholds and preparing for invasion that may or may not come. They will not run again, they have made these harsh lands their home. They won't go without a fight if it comes to that. So, it is in 222AC the Shifters live. They stay hidden beyond the shadows of the mountains and scurry beneath the dirt. They have been lucky to remain hidden so long, but now it seems, they are about to be found. What will the world make of them?

This is epic.